China’s newly registered firms up 38 pct

>> Maritime Silk Road to boost regional prosperity: overseas experts

By Liu Yue

Overseas experts have made positive comments on China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, saying it will promote the development of the countries along the route and boost regional prosperity.

Professor James Peck from New York University told reporters that the strategic 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative will exert an important influence on the economic development of Asia.

The initiative links countries along the road economically and culturally, he said, adding that the countries could share resources and achievements in trade, which will make Asia’s economy even more vibrant.

Peck also lauded China for its positive role in promoting global economic growth, saying China, as a major developing country, has continuously improved its international communication and cooperation skills.

John Wong, academic advisor to the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, pointed out that China attaches more importance to interdependence in its external economic activities.

Meanwhile, he said that equality and mutual benefit, interdependence and common prosperity are the starting point of China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative.

Bambang Suryono, a senior Indonesian political analyst, said the 21st century is a maritime century and China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative shows its willingness to conduct peaceful cooperation with other countries in developing the ocean.

It is an inevitable choice for the world to build a platform for win-win cooperation under the current trend, he said, adding that the Maritime Silk Road provides the Asia-Pacific countries with an opportunity to strengthen dialogue and coordination in a bid to maximize common interests.

Richard Tan, vice secretary-general of Association of Indonesia-China Economic, Social and Cultural Cooperation, said the Maritime Silk Road initiative fully demonstrates China’s sincerity to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries to boost connectivity and set up a regional financial mechanism.

The initiative is an adjustment and upgrade of the current regional cooperation mechanism, which will create “a whole greater than the sum of the parts,” he said.

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, covers countries and regions with a total population of 4.4 billion and a total economic volume of 21 trillion U.S. dollars, 63 percent and 29 percent respectively of the world’s total.

On Wednesday, a two-day international seminar on beefing up maritime trade infrastructure in Asia was opened in Quanzhou, a city in southeast China’s Fujian Province.

Over 280 academics and experts from 30 countries attended the seminar, themed “collectively building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and creating a community of common destiny”, and discussed proposals on building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

DUBAI

>> UAE ready to be gateway to better ties of China, Arab world: VP

By Liu Chang

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) would like to serve as the gateway to better ties between China and the countries in the Gulf region and the Arab world, a senior UAE official said on Saturday of February 14.

Mohammed, also Dubai ruler and UAE prime minister, said his country highly values its relations with Beijing, adding that it welcomes more investment and travelers from China.

He also said the UAE is ready to join China in carrying out the Belt and Road initiatives.

The Belt and Road Initiatives were put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his overseas visits in 2013, which includes the Silk Road Economic Belt — from China via Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road — through the Strait of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa.

The UAE leader also noted that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) would benefit the development of regional countries, and accord with the interests of all sides.

On Oct. 24, up to 21 Asian countries signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing the AIIB, an initiative proposed by President Xi in a bid to finance infrastructure projects across Asia.

Wang said the UAE has now become a key country linking China and the Arab world, and has a unique position in the Gulf region, adding that China is willing to step up its strategic partnership with the Middle East country.

The Chinese foreign minister also hoped that the two sides can expand their traditional cooperation to more emerging sectors and industries.

China is also ready to work with the UAE in enhancing their coordination while dealing with global and regional affairs so as to safeguard the legitimate rights of the developing nations, he added.

Also on Saturday, Wang Yi, who is on an official visit to the nation, also held a meeting with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.

Before his arrival in the UAE, the Chinese foreign minister also visited Pakistan. He will travel to Iran after the UAE trip.

BRASILIA

>> BRICS cooperation expands to population issues

By Mao Pengfei

The BRICS bloc of emerging economies has adopted a five-year agenda to jointly tackle population issues, including women’s rights, aging and migration.

Ministers and high-level envoys from bloc members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which have a combined population of nearly 2.9 billion, announced the decision late Thursday in Brazil’s capital Brasilia, following three days of talks.

The approval of the 2015-2020 agenda means the bloc, which has already consolidated cooperation in political, financial and economic fields, will now work together on social and demographic matters.

Alexandre Ghislene, director of human rights and social affairs at Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said the measure helps bolster not only the bloc, which includes four of the world’s 10 most populous nations, but also “south-south cooperation.”

“BRICS countries want to share our experience not just among ourselves, but also with other developing nations that are interested,” Ghislene said.

President of Brazil’s National Population and Development Commission Ricardo Paes de Barros highlighted the importance of cooperation, saying China has rich experience in migration management during its urbanization as well as in training, health care and education.

Brazil can learn from China how to manage the floating population, increase the presence of women in the workplace and reduce maternal mortality, said Paes.

Deputy Minister of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission Wang Pei’an underscored the importance of adequately attending to an aging population, especially in a country with 200 million people over the age of 65, to offer this segment a better quality of life.

Russia’s Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Sergey Velmyaykin said “aging and waves of migration” are among the problems affecting bloc members, so it makes sense to work together towards “mutual goals.”

His Indian counterpart, S.K. Sikdar, noted only 30 percent of India’s population currently lives in urban areas, but the figure is expected to reach 90 percent in the next 70 years, leading India to take an interest in others’ experience in rural-to-urban migration.

The next BRICS ministerial meeting on population issues will be hosted by China in 2018, along with a series of technical meetings over the coming years on each of the agenda’s six themes.

BEIJING

>> China considers taking more actions about steel pipe trade dispute

By Zhang Zhengfu and Wang Youling

An official of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Saturday of February 14 that the ministry will consider taking possible actions in response to a ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel about a steel pipe trade dispute.

“China will seriously evaluate the WTO panel report and consider taking possible actions,” a written statement on the MOC website cited an official as saying.

In December of 2013, the MOC decided to impose provisional anti-dumping measures on imported high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes from the European Union (EU), Japan and the United States for “substantial damage” to Chinese industry.

The remarks of the official, who is in charge of the treaty and law department of the MOC, came one day after the WTO panel made public its rulings over the trade dispute.

The panel supports China’s standpoints on issues such as the concrete analysis about price reduction and price impact, the official said.

However, China has reservations on the panel’s rulings about issues such as the dumping margin and fair comparison, the official added.

High-performance stainless steel seamless tubes are used mainly for super heaters and reheaters of super-critical boilers in power stations.

GABORONE

>> China to send 14th medical team to Botswana

By Lü Tianran

The governments of China and Botswana on Friday of February 13 signed an agreement of sending the 14th Chinese medical team to Botswana.

Chinese Ambassador to Botswana Zheng Zhuqiang and Botswana’s Minister of Health Dorcas Makgato-Malesu signed the agreement in Gaborone, capital of Botswana.

According to the agreement, the 14th medical team will have 46 members including 30 doctors, 10 nurses and 6 staff.

Makgato-Malesu thanked Chinese government’s assistance in Botswana’s health development since the first medical team was sent in 1981.

She said because of China’s support, Botswana has seen great development in providing health services to locals.

Besides sending professional medical members, Chinese government also donated health equipment and gave supports on human resources training.

Zheng Zhuqiang said health area has long been one of the top priorities in China’s assistance to Botswana. Alongside sending medical teams, China is also exploring possibility of sending short-term medical experts to Botswana. and China is willing to join hands with Botswana to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various areas including health sector.

The first Chinese medical team started work in Botswana in 1981 with 13 members, while the number has increased to the current 46. Up to now 13 Chinese medical teams and 373 team members have served in Botswana.

URUMQI

>> Xinjiang’s trade with Russia surges despite overall slowdown

By Cai Guodong and Lü Dong

Trade between China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Russia grew more than threefold last year amid a slowdown in the region’s foreign trade due to falling commodity prices, customs statistics showed on Saturday of February 14.

Xinjiang’s trade with Russia rose a whopping 374 percent year on year in 2014 to 2.15 billion U.S. dollars, compared with a 0.4-percent rise in total foreign trade to 27.67 billion dollars during the same period.

The slowdown in overall trade volume is mostly a result of shrinking imports, which saw a 20.9-percent drop to 4.19 billion dollars last year, local customs said. Exports rose 5.5 percent year on year to 23.48 billion dollars.

Falling commodities prices are blamed for the decline as crude oil and minerals account for the majority of Xinjiang’s imports. Crude oil and iron ore sand, whose prices fell 18.4 and 21 percent respectively, accounted for 53.8 percent of Xinjiang’s total import volume last year.

Trade with Xinjiang’s largest partner, Kazakhstan, was down 17.3 percent to 10.13 billion dollars.

Li Bin, an official with the Urumqi Customs District, said Xinjiang’s trade growth this year will be underpinned by upcoming policies from local and central governments supporting the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road intitives, with the aim to better cooperate with countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

BEIJING

>> Chinese-built railway in Angola open to traffic

By Zhang Zhengfu and Qi Zhongxi

A 1,344-kilometer railway built by China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) for Angola was completed and open to traffic on Saturday of February 14, the company told Xinhua.

The railway linking coastal city Lobito in the west and Luau bordering Angola is the second longest railway built by a Chinese company for Africa, after the Tanzania-Zambia railway.

The Tanzania-Zambia railway was built in the 1970s.

The railway, built since 2004, will be linked with the Angola-Zambian railway and the Tanzania-Zambia railway in the future, according to the company.

Dancers, singers, and acrobats from China performed before a large crowd in the historic heart of the Italian capital on Saturday to mark the upcoming Chinese New Year falling on February 19.

The celebrations, organized by the Chinese Embassy in Italy with the patronage of the Italian ministry of Culture, represented one of the major events taking place in these days across the country to allow both Chinese resident communities and Italians to enjoy the 2015 Spring Festival.

The festivities in Rome kicked off with a traditional Chinese parade passing through the central Piazza Augusto Imperatore and Via del Corso to end up in the ancient Piazza del Popolo, where the main exhibition was due to take place.

The show drew thousands of people, who gathered since early afternoon to follow the performance of dozens of artists coming from the provinces of Hunan and Shaanxi.

Both traditional folk dances and music, and the most modern pieces of acrobatic arts were offered to spectators.

The artists presented short versions of several Chinese classical dances as they had been conceived in ancient China, such as the Rainbow and Feather Garment Dance or the White Linen Dance.

All performances were introduced in both Chinese and Italian languages, so that all people around were able to fully understand the cultural and symbolic meaning of what they were watching and enjoy it the most.

The large historic square of Rome provided overall a very lively and joyous picture during the event, with red decorations to symbolize prosperity hanging on the large stage, the colorful and elegant costumes of the artists, and most of the children among the audience also dressed up for the on-going Carnival.

The show was broadcasted by Rai Expo state television.

The celebrations to mark the Chinese “Year of the Goat” ended with a spectacular fireworks display from Pincio, or Pincian Hill, which oversees Rome’s whole historic center.

ZHENGZHOU

>> China’s vice premier urges fresh efforts to alleviate poverty

By Zhang Zhengfu

China’s vice premier Wang Yang called for fresh efforts to alleviate poverty, stressing the importance of database and new funding mechanism in helping the poor.

Wang made the remarks during an inspection tour on Friday and Saturday in central province of Henan.

The database for poverty-stricken people should be better used to make personalized poverty alleviation program for different families so as to boost the effectiveness of the efforts, Wang said.

He also urged the introduction of new mechanisms for raising poverty-cutting funds, including the application of more bank loans and private funding.

The vice premier also highlighted the role of new technologies, new business models, and leading companies in poverty alleviation, including E-commerce, tourism and solar panel industry.

China registered 128,000 impoverished villages and 92 million people living in poverty, according to data released by the State Council leading group office of poverty alleviation and development in December of 2014.

BEIJING

>> China’s newly registered firms up 38 pct

By Tan Xiaomo, Dong Jun and Cheng Jing

The number of newly established firms continued to surge on the back of government efforts to streamline the process for starting a business, according to official data.

About 348,200 new companies were registered in January, up 37.74 percent year on year, statistics from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce showed.

Notably, the number of newly registered firms in the tertiary industry surged 41.61 percent to 280,100, accounting for 80.44 percent of new companies.

By the end of January, the number of all types of registered market entities in China came in at 70.18 million, with registered capital totaling 133.05 trillion yuan.

China lifted restrictions on minimum registered capital, payment deadlines, down payment ratios and cash ratios of registered capital on March 1 of last year, a move aimed at encouraging start-ups and energizing the economy.

HANGZHOU

>> Shandong Luneng claims China’s Super Cup

Guangzhou had more possession and chances but failed to break through Shandong’s national team goalkeeper Wang Dalei, who was solid in China’s performances in the Asian Cup held in Australia in January.

Shangdong won the shootout 5-3 after Guangzhou’s Huang Bowen blasted his shot at the bar.

GUANGZHOU

>> 50 H7N9 human cases reported in Guangdong

By Zhou Yan and Xiao Sisi

The number of H7N9 human cases in south China’s Guangdong Province has climbed to 50, with one new case reported on Friday, local health authorities said on Saturday of February 14.

A 45-year-old man from Meijiang District in Meizhou City was diagnosed with the disease Friday. He was in critical condition, the provincial health and family planning commission said in a press release.

Bird flu is most likely to strike in winter and spring.

In Guangdong Province, H7N9 human cases have been reported in 15 of all the 21 prefecture-level cities and 12 people have died. Thousands of chickens have been culled and live poultry trade has been banned in several cities.

Though the disease could be fatal, experts say patients could suffer less if they take the anti-viral drug oseltamivir in time.

“We found patients who took oseltamivir on the first day they had flu-like symptoms often recovered quickly, while those who waited until the seventh day often ended up on the critical list,” said He Jianfeng, a chief specialist with the provincial disease prevention and control center.

He said all flu patients are advised to take oseltamivir, which cuts most flu symptoms and can help some patients avoid hospital treatment and complications.

Local health authorities have demanded all hospitals to stockpile the anti-viral, as flu outbreak is likely to last until May.

Other Chinese localities including Shanghai, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Zhejiang have also reported human cases of H7N9 this winter.

H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in March 2013.

NANNING

>> Fog disrupts air traffic in south China city

By Zhou Yan and Wu Zhangyi

Heavy fog disrupted air traffic and stranded more than 3,000 passengers at a pivotal airport in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Saturday of February 14.

As of 7 p.m., 30 departure flights from the scenic city of Guilin had been delayed and another 19 canceled. At least 3,200 passengers were stranded in the terminal building, Guilin Airport authorities said in a press release.

At 9 p.m., the visibility on the runway still too low for landing. All the incoming flights were forced to land in the neighboring cities of Nanning, Guiyang, Changsha, Guangzhou, Chongqing or Kunming, it said.

The weather report said the fog would continue until 10 a.m. Sunday.

Guilin Airport is a pivotal airport in south China, with flights to most parts of China and international flights to Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok as well as flights to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.

CHANGSHA

>> Car accident kills 4 in C China

By Shuai Cai and Lü Dong

A taxi and a sedan collided on Saturday afternoon of February 14 in central China’s Hunan Province, leaving four people dead.

The accident occurred around 2:00 p.m. Saturday in Hunan’s Yueyang County. The taxi caught on fire after colliding with the sedan and four passengers had fatal burns.

Police are looking into the cause of the accident.

CHANGSHA

>> Bus arson kills 1, injures 3 in C China

By Zhou Nan and Lü Dong

A coach bus in central China’s Hunan Province was set on fire on Friday afternoon, leaving one dead and another three injured, local authorities said on Saturday.

The coach was found ablaze near a bridge at 3:43 p.m. Friday in Shuangpai County of Hunan Province. Police have identified the dead victim as the arsonist.

According to a police investigation, a 35-year-old man surnamed Huang from south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is suspected of committing arson after several unsuccessful attempts to court the coach’s attendant, a 47-year-old woman who is also among the three injured in the fire.

BEIJING

>> Temperature rises across China

By Cheng Jing and Yu Wenjing

Most regions in China will get warmer in coming days as Spring comes, the national observatory forecast on Saturday of February 14.

Most regions will see temperature rise by 4 degrees Celsius, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said. In particular, temperature in some regions in southern parts of northeast China will rise by up to 10 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, some parts in north China, regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers will be shrouded by smog, the NMC predicted.

The warming weather came amid the ongoing Spring Festival holiday travel peak, or “chunyun,” with hundreds of millions of Chinese people traveling home to reunite with family.

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